Monday, 31 October 2016

The Sidemen Book
Ok, this book makes me seriously happy. James & I are massive fans of The Sidemen, so when we heard there was a book coming out, I went straight onto Amazon to pre-order it. It arrived on 18th October & we haven't put it down since! Yeah, we are hard-core fans.. ; D

Maybelline - Matte Maker
I needed a new powder to set my foundation & thought I would try this 'Matte Maker' from Maybelline. I wasn't expecting too much from it if I'm honest but I was seriously impressed. It's only £3.99 (from Superdrug) & lasts all day.

Lush
Ah Lush. Not just Lush, but Lush at this time of year! I'm loving everything in store at the moment. From the Autumn bath bombs, to the new sparkly Christmas bath melts, to the products they stock all year, everything is just so perfect. I recently picked up & reviewed the Pumpkin Bath Bomb & the Autumn Leaf Bath Bomb. Reviews of some of the new Christmas bath bombs will be coming soon!

Lists / Meal Planner
Who else loves a good list? I've been obsessed with this meal planner from The Works this month. James & I aren't the best when it comes to healthy eating & planning meals (mostly because of working shifts that stretch into the evening) so we find it hard to have a balanced diet & tend to just grab what ever we find in the cupboard. This planner allows us to sit down & actually discuss what we are eating & what food we need to get in for that week. It's been a life saver!

Everyday Luxe - Pumpkin Spice
I'm so sorry I couldn't find the link to this candle. (more gutted that I can't seem to find where to buy a replacement for when I burn this one!) I bought it from TK Maxx last year & re-discovered it this Autumn & I can't get enough of the scent. It's so delicious. I keep popping into TK Maxx to see if they have had another one this year, but so far no luck.

Events

Right at the end of August, Mum & I had afternoon tea at The Hickstead Hotel. It was lovely to spend the afternoon catching up with her, alongside endless supplies of tea, coffee & cake. I've written a full post about our day, which will be up very soon!

At the end of September, I decided to have my hair balayaged & cut. I've had it done before, but this time I went for less blonde tones & more brown, warmer tones. I couldn't be more happy with it.

Earlier this month, James took me to meet his giraffes at Chessington. I only posted about our trip to Longleat a few week ago, where I got to feed the giraffes there, but this was a special VIP experience, where we were taken to the giraffes house to feed them & have pictures for half an hour. It was so much fun & they are all so beautiful.

On 19th October, James & I travelled to Gloucester for his graduation. I seriously couldn't have been more proud!

Oh & finally, it was Mum's birthday on 22nd October & we had the most lovely weekend together. We had a family meal in the evening with my grandparents which was so nice, lots of wine was consumed!

Thursday, 27 October 2016

I met up with my girlies last Sunday for brunch & games. I also got to meet Cathy's brother & sister-in-laws bunnies that she's been looking after while they've been on holiday. They are just so cute. I used to really want a bunny & it's re-kindled my love for them again.. I would give anything for a house rabbit but I don't think it would survive long with Harvey around sadly..

The Sidemen book was finally released last week! James & I have been waiting so long for this & as I'd pre-ordered it from Amazon, it arrived on release day, in mint condition. So much love for these guys.

Last Thursday James graduated from uni! We had been planning our trip to Gloucester for so long, it was amazing when the day actually came around. We travelled up on Wednesday night & stayed in a lovely B'n'B in Gloucester before heading to the cathedral early on Thursday morning for the ceremony. James' family met us there in the morning & after he had graduated, we went for lunch at The Queen's Head. It was a lovely pub & they served the biggest portions in the world.. seriously. It was amazing value for money. After lunch we headed back home.

Last Friday I made brownies for mum's birthday. She decided she'd rather have brownies than an actual birthday cake, so I spent the day on Friday baking. The brownies actually turned out really well, not to blow my own trumpet or anything, but I was seriously proud of them!

On Saturday morning (mum's birthday) we woke up at 7am & headed across the fields to photograph some of our resident geese. There is around 300 Canada geese that are currently residing in one of our fields & between 7.10 & 7.20, they take off from their nesting spots. We managed to capture some beautiful pictures of them, even some of them flying over our heads! It was amazing to see & sadly, they'll soon be heading home for the Winter.

Saturday evening we had a family meal at my grandparent's house. It was lovely to catch up with them & spend time with my family. We ate the brownies & I also made some macaroons with orange buttercream in. They went down a treat!

Finally, Sunday James & I had a rare day off together & headed out with the dogs to take some autumnal pictures. I love Autumn so much now. I never used to be a fan as I'm a Summer girl at heart, but just all the gorgeous colours at this time of year are too beautiful to not fall in love with.

Sunday, 23 October 2016

If you're like me & scroll through countless photos of people doing amazing Halloween makeup, then go to try it & massively fail.. then this one is for you! I'm not one for overly scary makeup either, so this would be perfect for a non-messy, cute look.

Ok, so how gorgeous is this? I have to say I'd never be brave enough to wear it over the top of just my bra (maybe with a black cami or crop top underneath) but it just looks so beautiful. Like I say, I tend to go for a more pretty approach when it comes to Halloween so I was immediately drawn to this.

These just looked such good fun & perfect for someone who doesn't like to have everything on show. They remind me of those fun leggings Primark do at Christmas that are perfect for wearing around the house or you could jazz them up for a night out, with heels & a black crop top.

How cute is this little guy? As I mentioned in my Tips & Tricks For The Working Day post, I love to have unusual cups & bottles to drink out of as it encourages me to drink more throughout the day. This skeleton jar is only £3! Complete bargain.

Who else hates getting messy on Halloween? I always do my makeup & totally forget I've put it on & manage to get it all over my clothes! Luckily, New Look have designed this choker which is perfect for keeping those stains at bay!

Wednesday, 19 October 2016

I'm sure if you've been a follower of my blog for a while, you'll know I have a slight addiction to Lush, especially when there is an occasion around the corner..

I never used to bother about celebrating Halloween. I never went trick or treating, I'd be the one wrapped up in the warm, looking out my bedroom window, waiting for others to come to my house! I always made my mum open the door as I was too scared to greet anyone! Now I'm 25, I think I'm more obsessed than ever..

I've already started buying a few decorations for our house & for work this year (we are dressing up on the 31st on box office!) If you're looking for cheap decorations, I can't recommend Poundland enough. I get all my decorations from there & I seriously wouldn't consider going anywhere else.

This little guy caught my eye when watching the Halloween product reveal a while back. I did think about purchasing his sparkly bubble bar friend, but I remember using it last year & having to scrub glitter from the bath tub for days..

This little guy though is so adorable & the scent he produces is delicious. I had to stop myself from licking him.

Lush describes the bath bomb like a "slab of sweet pumpkin pie" which I couldn't agree more on. It contains vanilla absolute & cinnamon, which come together to give you homely biscuity scent. Now I couldn't smell biscuits, but it defiantly reminded me of baking at home on a cold Autumn day.

When I placed the bomb into the water, it reacted instantly! Fizzing around & turning my bath a bright orange colour. I was half expecting there to be a green colour inside, which I thought would have been a nice touch. However, it quickly dissolved, leaving my bath smelling deliciously sweet.

My skin felt extremely soft & moisturized after my bath, one thing I can never fault Lush on. I always feel like I've had a treatment after using their products.

I also picked up the Autumn Leaf Bath Bomb from the range (review coming soon!) as the colours fascinated me, however I wasn't keen on the scent. Hopefully I'll change my mind when I use it in my bath. It's quite common for me to go into Lush & sample something & not like it but once I'm home & can smell it without mixing with other scents, I tend to really like them! Does that happen to anyone else?!

Saturday, 15 October 2016

At the end of September, Cathy invited the girls round hers for a three course meal. It was absolutely delicious. This was one of the puddings; a banoffee pie. Just look at those strawberries! (That was my contribution, I cut the strawberries up!)

James & I popped into Bills for breakfast last week on our way to paying in the money for the work Christmas meal. It seems crazy to be organising Christmas already, but places get so booked up so early, we had to reserve an evening asap. We also had a day of shopping. I managed to pick up a few exciting bits from Lush, so keep an eye out for my reviews coming soon!

Last Monday, James & I went to Chessington to feed the giraffes he works with. We had over an hour of traffic to get through & missed our time slot which was gutting, but we explored the local area & discovered this beautiful garden centre down the road from Chessington. They have some adorable animals plus one of the best cafes I've been too. They have different stations to go to; hot breakfasts, pastries & cereals & they open up the soup kitchen & pizza station at lunch time. I'd highly recommend it if you're in the area.

So Tuesday, we set off again (extra early this time!) & managed to get there with over half an hour to spare & I got to meet his 5 giraffes. They are absolutely beautiful. Giraffes have always been my favourite animals (as I'm sure you guessed from my Longleat post) so I was majorly excited to meet them all.

On Wednesday it was Honey's birthday! She was 7 can you believe.. I seriously can't. She got some new toys & a new jacket - make sure you add me on Snapchat to see more of her!

On Thursday I met up with Lorna & we went to Costa. She'd been recently & recommended one of their new drinks for the Autumn season, the Toffee Apple Hot Chocolate. It was so delicious & we got to have a lovely catch up in the warm.

Finally, last night I took mum as an early birthday present to see Belinda Davids perform as Whitney Houston. It was one of the most amazing shows I've seen. If you close your eyes, you would actually believe it was Whitney on stage. It was incredible.

Monday, 10 October 2016

This is the final instalment from our time away in Somerset at the end of August. Sorry its taken so long for me to write up this post!

So as you've probably seen from the title, this post is all about Longleat. There are actually no words for how special this place is to me, but I'll try & explain as we go along!

Let's start with the drive-through safari. James & I arrived at Longleat at 10am when the park opened & trust me when I say, there is so much to do, you need the whole day to really appreciate everything it has to offer.

The first part of the safari is through the African village, which you are able to get out of your car & walk around with the animals. There is a lemur & wallabies walk-through & you can get up close & personal with the giraffes. For £2 per person, you can feed them! For people who know me, this was the most exciting thing ever! I've always loved giraffes, they've been my favourite animals since I was little, so being able to feed them was such a special experience.

After seeing the giraffes & zebras, you jump back into your car & start the drive-through safari. From this point on you must stay in your car & each section you go through informs you whether you can have your windows closed or not.

Here's a few snaps of the animals we drove through;

Weirdest thing ever is when you have to stop the car to let a camel cross the road..

Ok, so another highlight of the safari, was feeding the deer. I love deer. Like, really love deer. I do get to see them a lot as I live in the countryside but they fascinate me. They are just such beautiful animals & the fact we were allowed to feed them (only realised this as we got closer) made me squeal a lot. I might have deafened James a bit..

After the deer we headed past the monkeys (James insisted we skip this enclosure & I have to say, it was probably for the best. We did see some cars missing number plates & windscreen wipers a bit further round the track..)

We then headed into the big cats area (windows up!) & managed to spy some lions, wolves & tigers!

There are two packs of lions, one pack was really near the road as we drove through so I got some gorgeous pictures of them all sunbathing.

& finally I couldn't not mention Anne the elephant. When we drove through her enclosure, she was in her house to keep cool as it was a very hot day, but her story is simply heart-wrenching. Please click on the link to read all about her as she's had a tough life & Longleat have helped her in so many ways.

Ok, so that's the safari done! Next stop, walking around the zoo & taking a trip to Gorilla Island. As soon as you come out of the wolves, you are directed to the parking, which takes you right next to Longleat House. Our tickets covered everything that the park had to offer, so we had access to the house as well as the rest of the zoo. We decided to explore the rest of the animals before entering the house & grounds.

We visited Penguin Island, Monkey Temple & another of my favourite places, Ray Bay. Ray Bay is special because you get to stroke the rays in their little pool. What I love about it, is they adore being around people. They happily come to the surface & swim near the edge for people to take photos & play with them.

We also went on the Jungle Cruise, which takes you around Gorilla Island & alongside the hippos & sea lions. I never realised how excited sea lions get when they see fish..

& finally we explored the house. Unfortunately you can't take photos inside so I wasn't able to take any snaps but I'd highly recommend going in. James & I aren't massive history buffs but we could appreciate how amazing the house's history was.

Another main feature of Longleat is the maze, it's one of the biggest in the world! Perfect if you want to have a sit down & let the children lose for a couple of hours, haha!

Oh & I can't not mention the gardens & little cafes dotted around the park. They are simply stunning. I dread to think how many hours daily go into making them look the way they do.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I can't stress how amazing this park really is. It's an unforgettable experience & I'd highly recommend visiting!

Thursday, 6 October 2016

I've always wanted to go to Bath. I don't know what it is about the city that appealed to me so much. Maybe it was the old Roman Baths, the cobbled streets or just because it was a new place to explore. Whatever the reason, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go when we were so nearby.

Unfortunately, the day we went was very miserable weather, it was raining & extremely muggy! I wanted to go to Alexandra Park as I'd heard it was a fantastic view point. (I'm sure it would have been too if we could have seen through the rain clouds!) It was still a lovely drive up to the park & we managed to spy a few glimpses of the city through the haze!

We then drove to the centre & had a walk through the shops to the abbey. I would have loved to have gone in the Roman Baths, but it seemed so expensive & we didn't have enough time put aside to spend a valuable amount of time there!

We also walked down to the River Avon where we saw a horse drawn carriage & some street performers.

What I'm wearing; Top - New Look / Jeans & Shoes - Primark

What I loved most about Bath is it felt like home. I know this probably sounds silly, but in my home town I can happily walk through it without a care in the world & just feel, well.. safe. And that's how Bath felt to me.